How WA's 2024 voter turnout compares to voter turnout in 2020
Behind the scenes of the King County Election Office in WA
FOX 13's Taylor Winkel is live in Renton, Washington, giving Washingtonians a behind-the-scenes look at how ballots are counted inside the King County Election Office.
New data from the Secretary of State's Office reveals that more than half of Washington voters have cast their ballots ahead of Election Day 2024.
Registered voters in the state have until 8 p.m. on Nov. 5 to submit their ballots at any of the more than 540 authorized ballot drop locations. Once the drop boxes close at 8 p.m., county election offices will continue to tabulate ballots processed before Election Day.
Keep reading to learn more about this year's voter turnout, and how it compares to voter turnout in Washington in 2020.
What is Washington’s 2024 voter turnout?
According to Washington's Secretary of State’s Office, as of Nov. 4, 2024, more than 2.8 million people have cast their ballots out of the more than 5 million total registered voters. That’s a voter turnout rate of 56.67%.
However, a returned ballot does not necessarily mean it will be counted. For a ballot to be counted it must be completed properly, the voter must be eligible, and there cannot be any errors or issues; like missing identification or missing signatures.
So far, 2,754,974 Washington ballots have been accepted, and 29,133 have been challenged.
What is King County’s 2024 voter turnout?
According to the Secretary of State’s Office, as of Nov. 4, 2024, more than 800,000 residents have cast their ballots out of a total 1,424,454 registered voters in King County. The Secretary of State is reporting a 57.78% voter turnout in the county.
Which counties in WA have the highest number of voters?
Here are the top 5 counties in Washington with the highest numbers of registered voters, according to the Secretary of State’s Office:
- King County: 1,425,454
- Pierce County: 575,866
- Snohomish County: 529,834
- Spokane County: 374,718
- Clark County: 346,108
What was Washington's voter turnout in 2020?
In 2020, 73.7% of ballots had been received by the day before the election, according to the Washington Secretary of State. In 2016, voter turnout was 78.7% and in 2012 it was 81.3%
As ballots continue streaming in via the USPS and dropboxes up until 8:00 p.m. on election night, officials still expect turnout in 2024 to reach at least 80%.
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